Dreyer Fails

Some months ago (TIME, June 25), newspapers reported in large headlines the 'discovery of a new vaccine for tuberculosis by Georges Dreyer of Oxford University. The distinctive feature of this vaccine was the claim that it could be made specific through its attack on certain ingredients contained within the capsule of the tubercle organism, which is of a waxy character. At the time of the original announcement, scientific authorities in the U. S. issued a word of caution because so many vaccines against tuberculosis had previously resulted in failure. Late reports from sanatoriums and hospitals in which various types of tuberculosis have been treated with the vaccine indicate that it has failed, will not achieve the results originally claimed for it.